Church Spotlight: Urbancrest Baptist Church in Lebanon, Ohio

Urbancrest Baptist Church goes through 300 to 400 cups of Kingdom Growers’ Vienna Roast coffee every Sunday. Mary Gamber, who runs the church’s International Café, says members call it "the regular.”Gamber discovered our coffee at the Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus, Ohio. While she enjoyed the taste of our products, she loved the mission behind our business.“I loved the idea of empowering farmers by teaching them preferable farming techniques and how to trade internationally,” she says. “I also believe the Gospel works and by sharing the Gospel with these [farming] communities, we are able to spread God's love with others.”Our coffee has been on the menu at Urbancrest’s café since June. The café runs on donations, which the church sends directly to the mission field. The addition of Kingdom Growers has given the roughly 800 people attending each Sunday an extra avenue for promoting mission work, since supporting the cooperative means supporting our partnership with the International Mission Board.The café’s focus on international ministry fits nicely with the church’s vision for outreach and missions. In their own community, Urbancrest members frequently host events to connect with their neighbors. They also operate a disaster relief center, a thrift store, and a resource center where people in need can find furniture and home accessories. Kingdom Growers helps expand that outreach mindset overseas.“Because we now serve KG's coffee, we are able to make sure that the coffee we serve is coming from the mission field and then the profits are going to the mission field,” she says.This ministry support is important, Gamber explains, because some of Urbancrest’s members might never get opportunities to go on mission trips. They might never see God work in foreign cultures. They might never talk about Christ’s love with nonbelievers living across the world.But, they can buy bags of Kingdom Growers. Through these purchases, members can support others who are experiencing those cultures and having those conversations.And, they can sip delicious coffee while praying for Christians who are spreading the Gospel overseas.